Commander is also a generic term for an officer commanding any armed forces unit, for example "platoon commander", "brigade commander" and "squadron commander". In the police, terms such as "borough commander" and "incident commander" are used.

Contents

Commander is a rank used in navies but is very rarely used as a rank in armies. The title, originally "master and commander,"[1] originated in the 18th century to describe naval officers who commanded ships of war too large to be commanded by a Lieutenant but too small to warrant the assignment of a post-captain and (before about 1770) a sailing-master; the commanding officer served as his own Master. In practice, these were usually unrated sloops-of-war of no more than 20 guns. The Royal Navy shortened "master and commander" to "commander" in 1794; however, the term "master and commander" remained (unofficially) in common parlance for several years.[2] The equivalent American rank master commandant remained in use until changed to commander in 1838. A corresponding rank in some navies is frigate captain. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the rank has been assigned the NATO rank code of OF-4.

Various functions of commanding officers were also styled Commandeur. In the navy of the Dutch Republic, anyone who commanded a ship or a fleet without having an appropriate rank to do so, could be called a Commandeur. This included ad hoc fleet Commanders and acting Captains (Luitenant-Commandeur). In the fleet of the Admiralty of Zealand however, commandeur was a formal rank, the equivalent of Schout-bij-nacht (Rear-Admiral) in the other Dutch admiralties. The Dutch use of the title as a rank lives on in the Royal Netherlands Navy, as the equivalent of Commodore. In the Royal Netherlands Air Force, however, this rank is known by the English spelling of Commodore which is the Dutch equivalent of the British Air Commodore.

The rank of commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is identical in description to that of a commander in the British Royal Navy. RAN chaplains who are in Division 1, 2 and 3 (of five divisions) have the equivalent rank standing of commanders. This means that to officers and NCOs below the rank of commander, lieutenant colonel. or wing commander, the chaplain is a superior.

To those officers ranked higher than commander, the chaplain is subordinate. Although this equivalency exists, RAN chaplains who are in Division 1, 2 and 3 do not actually wear the rank of commander, and they hold no command privilege.

The rank was introduced in Russia by Peter the Great in 1722. From the introduction of the Russian Table of Ranks to its abolition in 1917, "captain of the second rank" was equal to a court councillor, at the sixth level out of 14 ranks. Until 1856 it was also conferred hereditary nobility on the holder.

The equivalent rank in the Soviet Navy from 1918 to 1935 was "first mate", (старпом корабля 1 ранга; starpom korablya pervogo ranga).[Note 1] The rank returned to the Imperial Russian Navy form of Captain 2nd rank in 1935.

Commander is a naval rank in Scandinavia (Kommandør in Danish and Norwegian, Kommendör in Swedish) equivalent to the Anglo-American naval rank of captain. The Scandinavian the rank of commander is immediately above "commander-captain" (Norwegian: Kommandørkaptein, Swedish: Kommendörkapten, Danish: Kommandørkaptajn), which is equivalent to the Anglo-American naval rank of commander.[4]

In the former Royal Naval Air Service, which was merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force in 1918, the pilots held appointments as well as their normal ranks in the Royal Navy, and they wore insignia appropriate to the appointment instead of the rank. A flight commander wore a star above a lieutenant's two rank stripes, squadron commander wore two stars above two rank stripes (less than eight years' seniority) or two-and-a-half rank stripes (over eight years seniority), and wing commander wore three rank stripes. The rank stripes had the usual Royal Navy curl, and they were surmounted by an eagle.

For instance, as in various small colonial settlements (such as various Caribbean islands) commanding the garrison was the crux of the top job, the military title Commandeur could be used instead of a civilian gubernatorial style, not unlike the Portuguese Captain-major.

In the Spanish Army, the Spanish Air Force and the Marine Infantry, the term commander is the literal translation of "comandante", the Spanish equivalent of a Commonwealth major. The Guardia Civil shares the Army ranks, and the officer commanding a house-garrison (usually a NCO or a lieutenant, depending on the size) is addressed as the "comandante de puesto" (post commander).

In the Air Force, the term "commander" (abbreviated "CC" in office symbols, i.e. "OG/CC" for "operations group commander") is officially applied to the commanding officer of an Air Force unit; hence, there are flight commanders, squadron commanders, group commanders, wing commanders, and so forth. In rank, a flight commander is typically a lieutenant or captain, a squadron commander is typically a major or lieutenant colonel, a group commander is typically a colonel, and a wing commander is typically a senior colonel or a brigadier general.

In NASA spacecraft missions since the beginning of Project Gemini, one crew member on each spacecraft is designated as mission commander. The commander is the captain of the ship, and makes all real-time critical decisions on behalf of the crew and in coordination with the Mission Control Center (MCC).

The title of aircraft commander is used in civil aviation to refer to the pilot in command (commonly referred to as "captain", which is technically an airline rank and not related to the commander's role on board the aircraft).

The Metropolitan Police introduced the rank in 1946, after the rank of deputy assistant commissioner was split in two, with senior DACs keeping that rank and title and junior DACs being regraded as commanders. The Metropolitan Police also used the rank of deputy commander, ranking just below that of commander, between 1946 and 1968.

Officers in charge of policing each of the London's boroughs are given the title "borough commander". However, most such officers do not hold the actual rank of commander but instead hold the rank of chief superintendent. An exception to this is the borough commander of Westminster, who actually holds the rank of commander due to the size, complexity, and high-profile nature of the borough.

The Metropolitan Police Service announced that by Summer 2018 the rank would be phased out, along with that of chief inspector.[5] However in August 2017 it was announced that the new CommissionerCressida Dick had cancelled the plane to phase them out.[6]

The rank badge worn by a commander or an assistant chief constable consists of crossed tipstaves within a wreath. Until the abolition of the rank of deputy commander in 1968, however, a commander wore the same badge of rank as a deputy assistant commissioner.

In Australia, commander is a rank used by the Victorian,[7] Tasmanian, Western Australian,[8] South Australian, and Australian Federal police forces. The insignia consists of a crown over three bath stars in a triangular formation, equivalent to a brigadier in the army. In all four forces, it is junior to the rank of assistant commissioner, and senior to the rank of chief superintendent, with the exception of Western Australia and Victoria where it is senior to the rank of superintendent.

In New South Wales the position of commander is instated to officers (usually superintendents) in charge of a command or unit.

The Los Angeles Police Department, San Francisco Police Department, and Hawai'i County Police Department are three of the few US police departments which use this rank. A commander in the LAPD is equivalent to an inspector in other US departments (such as the NYPD); the LAPD rank was originally called inspector as well, but was changed in 1974 to commander after senior officers voiced a preference for the more military-sounding rank. In the Hawai'i County PD, a commander leads one of the county's two "areas," supervises the captains of the districts in the area, and reports to the chief.

Commander is also utilized by larger sheriff's departments in the United States. The rank usually falls between chief deputy and captain, which is three positions removed from the Sheriff. The Clark CountySheriff's Office in southwest Washington state uses the rank of commander. It falls between the rank of sergeant and the rank of branch chief. The insignia worn by a Clark County Sheriff's Office commander is a gold oak leaf, the same insignia worn by a lieutenant commander in the Navy or a major in the US Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps.

The Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC) also uses the rank of commander. The rank falls between those of inspector and assistant chief.

The Rochester, NY, Police Department (RPD) uses the rank of commander. Higher than captain and below deputy chief, the rank is achieved by appointment. Commander is the rank held by the two patrol division heads and other commanders fill various administrative roles. The St Paul Police Department (SPPD) is another police force that uses the rank of commander. In the St Paul Police Department, commanders serve as the chief of the district/unit that they oversee.

Many police departments in the midwest (including the Chicago Police Department) use the rank of commander. In Chicago a commander ranks above captain, and wears the silver oakleaf insignia of a lieutenant colonel. It is equivalent to an inspector in most other departments, being above a captain and below a deputy chief.

Commander is also used as a title in certain circumstances, such as the commander of a squad of detectives, who would usually be of the rank of lieutenant.

The title of Commander is used in chivalric orders such as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta for a member senior to a knight. The title of knight commander is often used to denote an even higher rank. These conventions are also used by most of the continental orders of chivalry. The United Kingdom uses different classifications.

In most of the British orders of knighthood, the grade of Knight (or Dame) Commander is the lowest grade of knighthood, but is above the grade of companion (which does not carry a knighthood). In the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire, the grade of Commander is senior to the grade of Lieutenant or Officer respectively, but junior to that of Knight or Dame Commander. In the British Venerable Order of Saint John, a Commander ranks below a Knight.